1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a foot, leg and lower body exercise system and more particularly pertains to a system to safely and efficiently provide exercise for a user""s feet and legs.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of other known means and apparatuses for the exercise of a user""s legs, feet and lower body is known in the prior art. More specifically, other known means and apparatuses for the exercise of a user""s legs, feet and lower body previously devised and utilized for the purpose of providing exercise for the user""s legs, feet and lower body are known to consist basically of familiar, expected, and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which has been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
By way of example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,807,212 to Nelson discloses a leg exerciser for use under a desk. U.S. Pat. No. 5,749,668 to McIlvain et al discloses an apparatus for the rehabilitation of an ankle. U.S. Pat. No. 4,813,667 to Watterson discloses a multipurpose exerciser. Lastly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,434,981 to Norton discloses a cross country skiing simulating exerciser.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not describe foot, leg and lower body exercise system that allows for safely and efficiently providing exercise for a user""s feet, legs and lower body.
In this respect, the foot, leg and lower body exercise system according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in doing so provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of safely and efficiently providing exercise for a user""s feet, legs and lower body.
Therefore, it can be appreciated that there exists a continuing need for a new and improved foot, leg and lower body exercise system which can be used for safely and efficiently providing exercise for a user""s feet, legs and lower body. In this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills this need.
In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of other known means and apparatuses now present in the prior art, the present invention provides an improved foot, leg and lower body exercise system. As such, the general purpose of the present invention, which will be described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a new and improved foot, leg and lower body exercise system and method which has all the advantages of the prior art and none of the disadvantages.
To attain this, the present invention essentially comprises a foot, leg and lower body exercise system for safely and efficiently providing exercise for a user""s feet, legs and lower body. The system comprises, in combination, several components. First there is provided a housing. The housing has an upper plate with an inside and an outside, and a lower plate with an inside and an outside. There are also provided two end plates and two side plates there between. The end plates and side plates are oriented perpendicular to the plane of the upper and lower plates. The end and side plates are coupled to the edges of the upper and lower plates thereby forming a generally rectilinear configuration. The length of the housing is greater than the width of the housing. The width to height ratio of the housing is about 7:1. The lower plate has an adjustment aperture located to one side of the lower plate. The upper plate has two equally configured rectangularly shaped openings. Each of the rectangularly shaped openings are equally spaced from the side edges of the upper plate. Each of the openings has a recess along each of the long edges of the rectangularly shaped openings. There is next provided a pair of like configured foot slides. Each slide has a rigid portion comprising a foot rest and a base plate. The base plate has an upper face and a lower face. The base plate has a flat rectangular configuration with forward and rearward edges, as well as side edges there between. Slots are provided adjacent to the rearward edge of each base plate. The side edges of the base plate are configured to be slidably mated to the recesses of the openings of the upper plate so as to provide positive tracking along the recesses in a forward and rearward movement. Each base plate has a plurality of rectangular apertures on the upper face. These apertures are located adjacent to the forward edge. Also provided are a plurality of upstanding protuberances located on the upper face of the base plate across the midline. The foot rest has an upper end and a lower end with two side edges there between. The foot rest is configured in a generally xe2x80x9cZxe2x80x9d shaped form. There are provided two wide prongs extending from the lower end of the foot rest to be receivably loosely mated with the slots of the base plate. The foot rest also has a downwardly extending locking arm which is rotatably coupled to the underside of the foot rest and is capable of being securely retained by any one of the protuberances of the base plate. This allows for the foot rest to be maintained in any of a plurality of angles. There is next provided a collapsible portion of the foot slides. The collapsible portion is operatively coupled to each foot slide and also coupled to the base plate at the side ends of the base plate. The peripheral edges of the collapsible portion are coupled to the inside of the housing top thereby closing off the openings during reciprocation of the foot rests and base plates. There is next provided a reciprocating mechanism comprising a flexible pulley cable, a plurality of pulleys, a plurality of mounting brackets and a plurality of housing brackets. The pulleys are oriented in a rectangular configuration within the confines of the housing. The axes of the pulleys are located along the first and second quarter dividing line of the long axis of the lower plate and the third and fourth quarter dividing line of the long axis of the lower plate. The pulleys are rotatably coupled to, and mounted on, the fixed mounting brackets. The mounting brackets in turn are coupled to the inside of the lower plate. The mounting brackets also couple the flexible pulley cable to the lower face of the base plate of the foot slides. This coupling between the foot slides through the cable and pulleys allows the foot slides to reciprocate forwardly and rearwardly. This allows for a reciprocating motion of the foot slides. Lastly there is provided an adjustment turnbuckle which is coupled to the pulley cable to form a continuous loop. The adjustment turnbuckle is located within the housing. The turnbuckle is accessible through the adjustment aperture of the lower plate to thereby vary the tension of the cable during operation and use.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims attached.
In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of descriptions and should not be regarded as limiting.
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved foot, leg and lower body exercise system which has all of the advantages of the prior art other known means and apparatuses and none of the disadvantages.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved foot, leg and lower body exercise system which may be easily and efficiently manufactured and marketed.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new and improved foot, leg and lower body exercise system which is of durable and reliable constructions.
An even further object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved foot, leg and lower body exercise system which is susceptible of a low cost of manufacture with regard to both materials and labor, and which accordingly is then susceptible of low prices of sale to the consuming public, thereby making such foot, leg and lower body exercise system economically available to the buying public.
Even still another object of the present invention is to provide a foot, leg and lower body exercise system for safely and efficiently providing exercise for a user""s feet, legs and lower body.
Lastly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved foot, leg and lower body exercise system comprising a housing having a generally rectilinear configuration. The housing comprises an upper plate and lower plate. There are also two side plates and two end plates there between. The length of the housing is greater than the width of the housing. The width is greater than the height. The housing has two equally configured rectangularly shaped openings in the upper plate. Each of the openings has a slot along each of the side edges of the rectangularly shaped openings. There is further provided a pair of foot slides mated to the upper plate and a foot rest mated with the rectangular slots of the base plate. The system also comprises a reciprocating mechanism to allow the forward and rearward motion of the foot rests.
These together with other objects of the invention, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the invention, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there are illustrated preferred embodiments of the invention.